Three suspects including Mrs. Ramatu Toyin Camara, Nigerian wife of suspected Malian illegal miner, Camara Momodu, her son, Abdulmalik Ganiyu, and Mr. Samassa Mahamadou commonly known as Irregu, are to face trial from today, Wednesday, March 6, as the police arraign them before
a Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Three others said to be at large were also charged to court over a devastating explosion in Ibadan which claimed over 12 lives and destroyed 52 houses as well as 39 vehicles.
Mrs. Camara in whose husband’s house dynamites illegally stored caused the explosion, was arrested on Sunday, January 21 within the precincts of the Redeemer Hospital, Ibadan, the state capital, where her son who was among those injured in blast was receiving treatment.
She had been in police custody at the Criminal Investigation Department, SCID of the Oyo State Police Command since then alongside her son Abdulmalik, who was arrested later.
Apparently conscious of the danger posed by the explosives stored in the apartment, Momodu’s family and some staff had evacuated the building, a three bedroom twin duplex following a fire outbreak suspected to have been caused by an electrical fault some minutes before the explosion
This was even as residents of houses in the neighbourhood who noticed that fire had engulfed the building thronged to the scene in their numbers in a bid to render help, oblivious that the occupants had fled and there were explosives stored in the premises.
Police detectives at the Criminal Investigation Department of the Oyo State Police Command had been on the trail of Momodu’s wife and other family members, as investigation into the deadly explosion intensified to unravel the sources of the explosives and those involved in illegal mining activities.
It was however learnt that the prime suspect, Momodu, is suffering a kidney-related ailment and had travelled over two years ago to Mali, his country for treatment. He was also said to have suffered a double jeopardy in his home country where he was robbed by gangsters.
While away in Mali, his two brothers whose names could not be immediately ascertained as of the time of filing this report had reportedly continued with the alleged illegal mining activities and inhabited the Ibadan apartment with his wife and children. Momodu’s two brothers fled the building before the blast, but his wife was said to be away from home when the incident occurred.
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